Foundation Launches $1M ‘Inclusion Initiative’ at Kinus

The Ruderman Family Foundation, a philanthropic fund headquartered in Boston, has chosen Chabad Lubavitch to be the recipient of a one million dollar grant to promote inclusion in its programs and centers worldwide.

Dr. Sarah Kranz-Ciment, PT, DPT, the project director, officially launched the “Ruderman Chabad Inclusion Initiative” (RCII) at the Motzei Shabbos Melaveh Malkah session of the Kinus Hashluchos held in New York City last week.

In a packed room with more than 2,000 Shluchos in attendance, Dr. Kranz-Ciment outlined an ambitious and unique new project that will benefit people with disabilities and the Chabad centers that welcome them. There was complete silence in the room as she spoke about the values of inclusion for everyone.

“The Rebbe pioneered the concept of inclusion in its truest form: of valuing each person based solely on essence, and it is this message that has empowered Chabad Lubavitch to become experts on inclusion of each and every Jew,” she said. When we undertake the Rebbe’s approach and work to apply it to every single person in the entire community, we make sure that nobody feels like an outsider, and we fundamentally establish a policy of inclusion.

“This is not about ramps in your building or even providing funding for accessible programs,” she said. “It is about your father who lost his hearing; your grandmother in a wheelchair, your five year old with down syndrome and your next door neighbor who needs a service dog. Each of these people and more will be will be better served and feel more welcome in your Chabad House.

“A father of four once told me that his daughter with autism does not feel welcome in most synagogues in his town. ‘If 25% of my family cannot go somewhere, that means that 100% of my family does not go there,’” he said.

Dr. Kranz-Ciment charged each and every one of the shluchim, empowering “every one of you in this room to be able to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for people with disabilities in every aspect of your communities…from our shuls, to our camps, and our schools, and our learning programs.” By provoking the entire community to change its mindset, this Initiative establishes inclusion as a matter of mentality, a point of cultural acceptance that goes far beyond the physical.

Twenty-five Chabad Centers internationally will be chosen to participate in the Initiative during this four year pilot period. The Initiative is geared towards informing and educating the shluchim community about the benefits and practices of inclusion — not only for adults and children with disabilities, but for Chabad centers and programs. This will be accomplished through developing training webinars for shluchim as well as a JLI course on Disabilities and Inclusion. The initiative will offer internships to train post-seminary students and camp counselors on best inclusion practices, which they will then implement in one of the 25 pilot communities.

At the conclusion of Dr. Kranz-Ciment’s presentation, more than 100 Shluchos lined up to apply for the 25 slots. Additional applications are still being accepted.

The Ruderman Family Foundation is unique in that it seeks to help organizations by creating educational resources and materials for communal leaders around the world who will then disseminate them in their individual programs and centers. For this reason, the Foundation chose Chabad Lubavitch as an organization that can spread the message of inclusion literally to every corner of the globe. This grant is the largest the RFF has ever made to a religious organization.